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Corruption and discrimination in Douala metropolis public hospitals of Cameroon
Get PDFAbstract. The problem that arises is how the State official in a monopoly situation maximizes the value of bribes collected, by selling public services to users? To answer this question, we show that the State agent in a monopoly situation can discriminate users according to their characteristics in order to collect more possible bribes. The Shleifer and Vishny’ simple monopoly model is therefore limited. The survey of patients of nine public hospitals in Douala revealed the existence of two forms of corruption at consultation: corruption without theft and corruption with theft. An evaluation of maximizing the earnings of medical doctors using odds ratios, showed that in the pursuit of these gains and whatever the form of corruption practiced, the State agent plays not only on amounts of bribes paid, but also on users’ characteristics. However, for amounts between 3,000 FCFA and 5,000 FCFA, our results revealed that the doctor will tend to practice the form of corruption without theft on men, the wealthiest, the learned and the old where he/she would draw the greatest possible gain.Keywords. Corruption with and without theft, Discrimination at first degree, Health system, Odds ratios, Cameroon.JEL. D40, I10, I14, I15
Does Clower’s Dual-Decision Hypothesis lead to the change in saving conclusion in Keynes’s General Theory?
Get PDFAbstract. Keynes’ General Theory (1936) is probably the most challenging economics book ever written, with an abundance of hypotheses, concepts and theories. Twenty five years after its publication, Clower proposed an insightful explanation on Keynes, the Dual-Decision Hypothesis (DDH). Hall (1978) and Flavin (1981) seemingly reached the conclusion that, under certain conditions, consumption was independent of income. In contrast, Wu (2016) has shown that, change in saving has to be a function of income growth. In fact, applying Wu’s corrected consumption for period t+1, it is possible to show DDH equations leading to Keynes’ change in saving (and disequilibrium) conclusion.Keywords. Keynes, Clower, Keynesian, Disequilibrium, Dual decision hypothesis, Consumption, Martingale.JEL. A10, B2, B22, C20, E20, E60, F00
Gender gap is a trade trap: The road ahead for international development
Get PDFAbstract. The paper provides an outline of effective gender parity policy in South Asia with a special reference to Pakistan. The need of gender parity as an economic goal is identified by linking gender empowerment as a need to create better trade policy framework. This may provide strong public sector commitment towards bringing and implementing such laws that focus on more female participation in formal schooling as well as skill development.Keywords. Micro education, Trade, Gender empowerment, International development.JEL. G20, G21, G24
Short Term versus Long Term Economic Planning in Pakistan: The Dilemma
Get PDFAbstract. For long term and sustainable economic development, countries have to start from somewhere. Thus there is a distinction between short term planning and long term gaols setting. However countries like Pakistan have mostly fell into the trap of economic plans that focus on year to year goals setting or in other words macroeconomic stabilisation and usually fail to link policies with long term plans. The paper presents data that supports the hypothesis that it is the initiative of governments and not the donors to link long term economic progress with short term policies. China is a good example in this regards.Keywords. Economic Planning, Dilemma.JEL O20, O21, O24
Does Social Capital Have an Effect on Industry Production in G7 Countries? Causality Analysis
Get PDFAbstract. The relationship between social capital and economic growth has become an attractive research area in the literature recently. In this context, this paper examines the relationship between social capital indicators and industry production in the period of 2006-2014 with monthly data for the G7 countries. For empirical analysis, panel causality analysis method developed by Dumitrescu & Hurlin (2012) was used. Results indicate that there is a bidirectional relationship between social capital indicators and industry production. These findings support feedback hypothesis in the context of social capital and economic growth in the G7 countries.Keywords. Social capital, Industry production, Economic growth, Panel causality, G7 Countries.JEL. F63, J24, O47
Information Theory and Thermodynamics
Get PDF Abstract. A communication theory for a transmitter broadcasting to many receivers presented. In this case, energetic considerations cannot neglected as in Shannon theory. It is shown that, when energy is assigned to the information bit, information theory complies with classical thermodynamic and is part of it. To provide a thermodynamic theory of communication it is necessary to define equilibrium for informatics systems that are not in thermal equilibrium and to calculate temperature, heat, and entropy with accordance to Clausius inequality. It shown that for a binary file, the temperature is proportional to the bit energy and that information is thermodynamic entropy. Equilibrium exists in random files that cannot compressed. Thermodynamic bounds on the computing power of a physical device, and the maximum information that an antenna can broadcast are calculated.Keywords. Information theory, Thermodynamics, Entropy.JEL. C62
Optimal Asset Allocation of a Pension Fund: Does The Fear of Regret Matter?
Get PDFAbstract. In this paper, which presents a simplified behavioral finance model, we incorporate regret into the decision-making process of a pension fund and derive the optimal asset allocation of a final-wealth-maximizing pension fund in the accumulation and decumulation phases. We find that the optimal allocation must be congruent in both phases if and only if the pension fund is upside regret averse. In particular, our results suggest that allocation to risky assets must increase through time in the accumulation and decumulation phases so that the pension fund can realize gains from any upsides in the risky asset market, thereby maximizing final wealth and limiting the feeling of regret ex-post. Although decisions in both phases are congruent, we find that the optimal asset allocation generally depends on wealth levels. This evidence implies that separate management of the accumulation and decumulation phases of a pension fund decreases available wealth levels and is not an optimal strategy.Keywords. Financial Markets. Asset allocation. Log-logistic. Modified utility. Mortality. Pension fund. Regret aversion.JEL. G23, G11, C61
Impact of size of the National Asset Funds on Economic Development: Panel Data Analysis on Select Nations
Get PDFAbstract. National asset funds are introduced to use the current transaction surplus, except the official reserves, in the most effective way possible. It is possible to cite the sources of these funds as commodity and non-commodity sources. The initial practices have been seen in oil-rich Gulf countries as well as Asian nations which have been successful in export activities. There are different national asset funds in a number of countries in the world exhibiting different management styles. The primary goals include ensuring sustainable development, creating sources, conducting development projects and accumulating savings for future generations. In addition, they are also used to deal with possible economic crises. But these funds are being criticized because they are allegedly not transparent and they can be used as independent budget by governments. Currently, the impacts of these funds upon economic growth have been a matter of academic curiosity. The purpsose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the size of the national asset funds upon economic growth by reliance on a panel analysis of six nations employing asset funds. The findings in the analysis show that increase in the size of the national asset funds has a positive impact upon economic growth of the nations.Keywords. National asset fund, Economic growth, Panel data analysis.JEL. C10, C20, G23, O40
The Sources of Economic Growth in Iran’s Economy
Get PDFAbstract. This paper estimates the shares of Total Factor Productivity Growth (TFPG), labor accumulation, and capital stock accumulation in Iran’s economy, and analyzes the time trend of the TFPG over the course of 1360-1392 of the Solar Hijri calendar (approximately equal to the 1981-2013 of the Gregorian calendar). Few studies have already been carried out for estimating sources of economic growth in various countries and different economic sectors. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to Iran’s economy in recent years. After testing for the stationarity of the variables using Dickey-Fuller tests, this study estimates an aggregate production function for Iran’s economy using times-series econometric methods. The results suggest that the production structure of Iran’s economy is more capital-intensive than being labor-intensive. In fact, the elasticities of production with respect to capital and labor have been 0.59 and 0.41, respectively. The findings show that the average annual growth rate of TFP has roughly been 0.5% over the study time period. The other results imply that the average contributions of TFPG, labor accumulation and capital accumulation in Iran’s economic growth have been 15%, 30%, and 55%, respectively. As a result, it could be inferred that the performance of Iran’s economy in terms of long-run, economy-wide productivity growth has been weak compared to that of other developed and developing countries, in most of which TFPG possesses relatively greater shares in their economic growth.Keywords. Iran, Sources of economic growth, Aggregate production function, Capital accumulation, Employment.JEL. O47